Tracy McConnell
. For more images of the mother, see The Mother images]] The Mother refers to Future Ted's wife, the future mother of Ted's children. Since her name and her identity is currently unknown, she is simply known as "the mother" amongst fans. Family Known Facts While not much is known about the mother, the following has been revealed throughout the series. *At the end of , Future Ted says: “Kids, funny thing about destiny. I thought I was destined to get that job, but I was wrong. My destiny was to stay in New York. Because if I hadn’t, I never would’ve met your mother." This strongly suggests that Ted meets the mother in New York, and that at the time of , Ted had not yet met the mother. *At the end of , Future Ted closes the episode talking about his and Robin’s futures: “And as hard as it was at the time, in the end we both got what we wanted. She did eventually go on to live in Argentina, and Morocco, Greece, Russia, even Japan for a little while. And I? Well, I met your mom.” This implies that, at the time of , Ted had yet to meet the mother. *At the end of , Ted asks Marshall and Lily where his wife is, at his college reunion. As the reunion was held in 2020, it is reveiled that Ted met his future wife by 2020. *In , Future Ted states that his future wife was at the same St. Patrick's Day party he went to, but that they didn't meet each other, again implying that at the time of this episode, Ted had not met the mother. When going back to the party to find his phone, he picked up the yellow umbrella that belonged to her. However, Ted does bump into some seemingly arbitrary woman whom he seems to notice and who seems to notice him. This woman may turn out to be the mother. *In , it's revealed by Future Ted that the mother's yellow umbrella factors into the story of how she and Ted met. *In , Future Ted tells his children that when he got their mother's phone number, he called her right away. This too implies that, as of , Ted had not yet met their mother. *In , Ted is shown teaching his first class at Columbia University. Future Ted narrates how this was the best job he's ever had, and that if it weren't for that job, he never would have met their mother. However, in , it's revealed that Ted was in the wrong room for his first class, and all the students there were Economics students, implying that the mother is (at the time of that episode) an Economics student. *In , Future Ted tells his kids that when he first told their mother his "shellfish-selfish" joke, she laughed. *In , Future Ted reveals that he eventually stops smoking a few weeks after he first meets the mother. * ]]In , Ted dates a girl named Cindy. Cindy's roommate is the mother, as revealed by Future Ted. Although they never meet, while in Cindy's apartment Ted looks around and discovers things about the roommate/mother that shows they have very similar likes and hobbies, such as making breakfast foods sing show tunes, painting pictures of robots playing sports, and playing bass guitar. Ted also sees what Future Ted states was probably the mother's feet, as she leaves the bathroom to go into her room. *In , Future Ted reveals that Ted will meet the mother on the day of a wedding and that "a little ways down the road" he will be the best man at a wedding, later revealed in and to be Barney and Robin's wedding. If this is indeed where he meets the Mother then she is most likely a guest at the wedding. However, with Series 7 ending with two engaged couples (Barney/Quinn and Victoria/Klaus), Barney and Robin's wedding may not be the only wedding Ted attends in the near future. *In , in a scene that flashes forward to 2021, Ted reunites with Wendy the Waitress and tells her that he is now married to "a wonderful woman" and has two kids, revealing that he will have met and married the mother by this time. This fits into the continuity of the series, given that Ted's kids are in their late teens by 2030. * Later in , a scene set in April 2021 (ten years into the future) shows Ted wearing a wedding ring, further implying he will have met and married the mother by this time. *In , it is stated that the last person he said 'I love you' to before the mother was Robin. This implies that Ted won't have anymore serious relationships between then and the day he meets the mother. *In , it is shown that by 2015, Ted is watching the ''Star Wars trilogy with Barney, Marshall, and his baby daughter - implying Ted has met the mother and has had a child by that time. Possibilities and Theories This is a list of possible identities and popular theories regarding who could be the mother. *At the end of , Future Ted jokes to his kids that the stripper named Tracy he flirts with was their mother. Similarly, in the first episode of the Series, Ted tells them the story of how he met Robin, and they believe it is the story of how he met their mother, until he reveals in the end that it was "Aunt Robin". *During , Ted has a date with a woman who Ted claims is perfect, as they share a lot of similar interests and she wants the same things out of life as Ted does. However, Ted thinks he isn't emotionally ready to meet her and commit, so he doesn't go to dinner with her and they never meet. Furthermore, by looking at her profile, Ted says that she is college educated. This clashes with the mother being in college in Season 5, but she could enroll in college again for higher studies, or she could be in the process of attaining her degree. *The mother could be Barney's half-sister, Carly. She and Ted have not met yet, and it is likely that they will meet for the first time at Barney's wedding. Not much is known about Carly, however it is known that she is in college, meaning it's possible she was in Ted's first University class. Carly's family also lives ten minutes away from Ted's house, and it is likely that she grew up in that family house. If Carly is the mother, then Barney would truly be the kids uncle, and Robin, being Barney's wife, would be their aunt. *In the opening shot of , you can see cameras in the background and a photographer's handbook on the desk. The mother may be Barney's wedding photographer. Past Candidates These are a list of people who, in the past, were potential candidates for being the mother. However, due to new information released later during the series, these people have been excluded from being potential candidates. Please note that only those who had a realistic chance of being the mother are included in this list, such as those that have been in serious, long-term relationships with Ted. Robin Scherbatsky In the , it was shown that Ted wanted to get married and loved Robin, so it was implied that she would be the mother. However, at the end of the episode, Future Ted reveals that that girl turned out to be Aunt Robin, not the mother. This may be a device used by Future Ted to state the intimacy Ted's kids have with his friends, as Marshall, Barney and Lily are named aunt/uncle throughout. In , it is revealed that Robin cannot have children, so she could not be the mother. Lastly, in , it is shown that Robin is the bride at Barney's wedding, eliminating any possibilities of her being The Mother. Victoria Due to the seriousness of their relationship, it was suspected Victoria would be the mother, but as was said earlier, in , Future Ted states that he had not yet met the mother. Since Ted met Victoria months prior to this episode, it's clear Victoria is not the mother. She also makes a major appearance in , where she reveals she's getting married, therefore ending any possibility she's the mother. However, it's likely that if ''How I Met Your Mother'' had not been renewed for a second season, Victoria would have been a fallback option and become the mother. Although Ted and Victoria have apparently gotten back together in the finale of Season 7, it has been confirmed that she is not the mother.http://www.tvguide.com/News/HIMYM-Finale-Barney-Bride-Craig-Thomas-1047516.aspx Stella Zinman Stella was a likely candidate to be the mother, due to the seriousness of her relationship with Ted, culminating with their engagement and subsequent wedding plans. However, Stella left him on their wedding day and later married Tony Grafanello. However, if ''How I Met Your Mother'' had ended after Season 3, then Stella would likely have been a fallback option (similar to Victoria) and she would have been the mother, although unless Lucy was the girl child, she does not appear to be present while Ted is talking to his kids. Zoey Pierson Zoey was never a real possibility to be the mother, since it had been stated before Ted met her that he met his wife at a wedding. It further confirms that Zoey is not the mother when Ted reveals to Wendy the Waitress when they meet in 2021, in , that his and Zoey's relationship ended badly and that he eventually married the mother, the true love of his life. Notes and Trivia *The last 20 seconds of the song on tedmosbyisajerk.com sounds like gibberish, but if played backwards, it plays: "Wendy the Waitress is the mother of the goat". *Only creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas know who the mother is. No one else in the production team does.HIMYM Production Twitter status update on Feb-2-2011. *The actress who plays the mother has not been picked.HIMYM Production Twitter status update on Feb-2-2011 in response to @radisback. *Carter Bays joked that Nora was the mother. *On the Season Six DVD set, there is a special feature called "What we know about your mother". In it, Future Ted list all the women it could not be, from Robin to Zoey, talks about the yellow umbrella, and then talks about the woman in the coffee shop who got the orchid that was meant for Zoey. He states while that the woman was not the mother, he list some new information about her. First, the mother tends not to finish her sandwiches and asks to have all her unfinished food (even butter) to get wrapped up. She befriends waitresses to get free dessert (which, according to Future Ted, happens all the time), and her favorite flowers are lilacs, which is the first flower Ted gave her when they met, and hates orchids. References Category:Characters Category:Who is the Mother? Category:The gang's families Category:Unnamed characters Category:Unseen characters Category:Girls who dated Ted Category:Future articles